Sept.. 1909.] A STUDY OP FARM BUTTER-MAKING. 271 



dissolves with difficulty. The salt must be stored in a clean, dry 

 place, as it readily absorbs moisture and foreign odors from 

 the air. 



The object of working butter is to uniformly distribute the 

 salt and give the butter a plastic consistency. Several butter- 

 makers believed that he chief if not the sole purpose is to work 

 out the buttermilk or water and with that in view worked the 

 butter from four to six times before adding the salt. In one dairy 

 the roller was passed over the butter twenty times before the 

 salt was added; as a result the grain of the butter was entirely 

 destroyed, giving it an oily and greasy appearance. Too much 

 water was expelled before the salt was added, making the salt 

 dissolve Avith difficulty and giv- 

 ing the butter a low water con- 

 tent, decreasing the yield of but- 

 ter. 



The old primitive method of 

 working the butter by the hands 

 was still found in use in places. 



On one farm where from fifty ^^^- "*• ^" imsanitary, unsatisfactory 



method of working butter. 



to sixty-five pounds of butter 



were made per week this method was still in vogue. It is very 

 undesirable in all cases to get the hands directly in contact 

 with the butter. It is not only highly unsanitary, but it spoils 

 both the grain of the butter and its appearance. The melting 

 point of butter fat varies from 93° F. to 98° F. Our body tem- 

 perature is about 98.6° F. When the hands come in contact 

 with the butter it melts, making it oily and greasy, at the same 

 time giving it a dead, dirty grey color. Many farmers making 

 only a small amount of butter used a bowl and paddle, which is 

 a great deal better than using the hands, although not as satis- 

 factory as a small table worker. 



It is well to add the salt before working is begun, while the 

 butter is still in a granular condition. A practice which is fre- 

 quently followed and which is very satisfactory is to pass the 

 roller over the butter once, apply one half the salt, turn the but- 

 ter over, pass the roller over again, and add the balance of the 

 salt. By so doing it is possible to get the salt evenly distributed 

 with a minimum amount of working. It is impossible to lay 



